US Stock Futures Point To Subdued Opening As Global Economic Data Hint At Renewed Slowdown, Especially In China; Earnings, Data Continue To Remain In Focus

Traders stand outside the New York Stock Exchange prior to the opening bell on Oct. 31, 2012.
Reuters/Brendan McDermid

Stock futures suggested the continuation of a weak performance for stocks, and a downbeat mood among investors worried about fresh fears of a slowdown in the world economy, especially in China's manufacturing sector.

On Tuesday, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.09 percent and futures on the S&P 500 were down 0.1 percent while those on the Nasdaq were down 0.12 percent. On Tuesday, the Dow closed 0.56 percent down while the S&P 500 fell 0.65 percent while the Nasdaq dropped 0.82 percent.

On the earnings front, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT) and DIRECTV (NASDAQ:DTV) are among those scheduled to declare earnings before markets open. Express Scripts Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ESRX), Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HPQ), Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) and Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE:JWN) are among those slated to announce earnings after markets close.

In economic data, the consumer price index, or CPI, for January is scheduled to be released at 8:30 a.m. EST. Jobless claims for the week ended Feb. 15 is also expected to be released at the same time. Markit's purchasing managers' index, or PMI, for February is due at 8:58 a.m.

In Europe, stocks continued to be weak with the Stoxx Europe 600 index trading down 0.59 percent while the FTSE 100 was down 0.28 percent. Germany’s DAX-30 was down 1.05 percent and France's CAC-40 was down 0.39 percent.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei-225 dropped 2.15 percent down while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 inched up 0.08 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 1.19 percent while the Shanghai Composite was down 0.18 percent. South Korea’s Kospi was down 0.64 percent, while India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.9 percent.